And make that cotton!
Don't laugh. But I was watching Gandhi Tuesday night and was just fascinated with the cotton spinning demonstrated on the film. Way to go Ben Kinsley. Oh, I really want a book charkha now. Anyway, I was thinking about it all day yesterday and was itching to try cotton spinning. I didn't have a charkha wheel. But I did have some cotton, and a small support spindle purchased from Nancy at Gwen's workshop. As soon as I stopped working I took out the tools and fiber and went at it.I had in mind how they spin the cotton and weave it into fabric to make robes. So I tried spinning thin. The truth is that spinning thin is perfect for this small spindle. I imagine that I will have to use these cotton singles for weaving. Oh oh. Did I just discover what the next fiber lesson will be? LOL
6 comments:
Don't be afraid to try it on your wheel. Use your highest twist setting with very little take-up and take it easy. But you need REALLY high twist.
Goodl uck with that, I'd be curious. I know Sean (of Sean's Soapbox fame) has a gorgeous book charkha and has done some fine silk on it. He coupld give you some pointers.
Beautiful wooden bowl;)
Oh Jason, your spinning is lovely! You can't really spin cotton singles fat because the staple is so short it would fall apart. If you look at fat cotton yarn it's always made up of lots of plies. You're spinning perfectly! If you get into cotton and weaving, you could get a takli and shuttle where the takli (cotton support spindle) fits right into the shuttle so you go right from spinning to weaving without having to wind off. Glenda Clift of the Ventura guild has spun enough cotton on her takli to weave 13 yards of fine gauge fabric from it!
Hey Sachi! I'll try it with the Lendrum one day. Maybe when I get a "very fast flyer". For now I sit in bed with the bowl and spindle, and just spin for hours. Not good if you want to fall asleep. LOL
Hey Dave! Thanks for that suggestion. I'll keep Sean in mind. I think I have an opportunity to test drive an attache charkha. That bowl does look good in the photos. LOL Got it on sale at a Japanese market.
Hey Janel! Thanks for that tip! I really love that idea! Guess what, I went over to Journey Wheel's site and saw that they make the boat shuttles for their spindles. hehehe
Jason, it looks beautiful and love the bowl.
Thank you Marianne! Still figuring out the cotton fiber. It's a different experience for sure. :-)
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